[PenguinHead]

The prospect of a new Fleetwood Mac album seems to be in jeopardy. Aside from this ever expanding and never ending tour of greed, Stevie's ambivalence is a stunning insult to the band and fans. And time, inevitably, is not on their side.

Even if they manage to make and tour with a new album, the set list won't change much. They are so tentative with new material; maybe four new songs will be performed, and at least one will be dropped before the tour ends. I have hard time being at peace with on how restrictive, rote, stagnant and uninspired their set lists have become, even though they have surprised us with some minor alterations.

Other bands I love create unique set lists for each of their tours, featuring deep cuts, a healthy amount of new material, and a handful of their hits.
Fleetwood Mac is just doesn't have that kind of nimbleness. Because they have three singer/songwriters, they have to achieve a balance between them. Aside from that, they have a lot of hits and standards they feel they required to play. This mindset leaves little wiggle room. It's like they are performing the same play every time they tour, with very minor scene and script changes. When Stevie proclaims the set list is set in stone, she's stating the obvious par for course.

Look at a band like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They have a lot of signature hits, but they don't glut their sets with the same songs in the same sequence over and over. They'll play inspired covers, deep tracks, and some select hit songs. No one leaves their shows bitching about the set. "I paid a lot of money and they didn't play the songs I wanted to hear! No "Free Fall" I'm so pissed off." Their fans come for a show, not a greatest hits album.

I realize this is a somewhat unfair comparison; group dynamics and demographics vary vastly among bands and their fans.